Embracing the wanderer within

Travelling 12,000 kilometres on a Royal Enfield is no easy feat. But Mumbai-based photographer, Nitesh Square, manages to do that and more as he spreads happiness across the country by giving away free hugs and photographs. His project Fiazi Safar (generous journey) has led him from Mumbai, across Goa and Hubli, to Chennai, where he is all set to give away some hugs.

“I undertook two trips in 2014 and 2015, one from Mumbai to Delhi and the other in and around Singapore and Malaysia. I was penniless during both. These were to see how far I could get only with strangers’ help and how much faith a person puts into someone they don’t know. I also wanted to gauge my own toughness when people refused to help me,” says Nitesh about how the idea of Fiazi Safar came to him. “With this journey, I decided to give back by travelling across the country and giving hugs to strangers in exchange for clicking their photo and printing it out for them. I recently competed one month of my journey and my 1000th hug,” he adds. So now, Nitesh stands in crowded places with a sign saying ‘Give me a hug in exchange for a free photo’ and clicks pictures of people, uses the printer he carries on his bike, and brings joy to people in the cities he visits.

While talking about his hurdles and experiences, he divulges, “I’ve discovered that South India is a little more traditional, but I’ve managed to find at least one person willing to translate my board that asks for hug, into the local language. People are extremely curious about what I’m doing. So much so that, once while crossing a checkpoint at Hubli, a police officer said that if he were retired he would join me.”

Travelling on his green Royal Enfield, Nitesh will be moving towards Orissa, then Bengal and after completing the Northeast and central India, will finish his journey in Leh-Ladakh. He tells us about his journey so far, “I have learnt a lot this past month because I started with an open mind. And I’ve met some incredible people. I also shoot fine-art pictures of women, so I was able to indulge in that too. The only thing I can advise people who want to take such trips is make your mind about the trip and don’t rush.”